Saree Politcs

I greatly admired Indira Gandhi. Not that I am condoning the practice, but many people I know, to this day, long for the general civil environment that “Emergency” created. There was fear, but there was also a sense of fair dealing.

The petty corruption at all level was practically wiped out – and I can see how one can romanticize that.

Anyway, I am really looking forward to the images from Rajneeti (god knows I have no patience to watch a hindi movie, unless I have a remote in my hand).

A saree will get you in anywhere it seems. A recent state dinner at the White House in honor of PM Monmohan Singh and his wife received a pair of unexpected guests. Washington D.C. socialites Tareq and Michaele Salahi thought it would be fun to try and sneak into the state dinner and it worked. Though they had no invitation and weren’t on any guest lists, they managed to make their way through security. Maybe it her chic lahenga saree and his snazzy tux that made security think they were guests? They weren’t even discovered as party crashers until they bragged about getting in to the party online.

As a foreigner living in Kolkata, I sometimes find it hard to get by. Though I’m comfortable with the material things I have here like my apartment, food, clothing, and so on, I am often hit by a sense of outsiderness. I doubt that is a word but the meaning is clear. A foreigner can never become Indian, so to say. My future lies in this country and with these people though, and as such, I feel a deep desire to “fit in”. I wear Indian clothing everyday (salwar kameez or sarees for special occasions), I eat with my hand as is the Indian way, and I’ve been studying Bengali for over a year so I can communicate with a certain level of ease. Regardless of these attempts to integrate into Indian society, I still get looks from passersby and strangers coming up to me to say “welcome to India”. What a stressful and discouraging process this is.

When I doubt my ability to one day be accepted as part of this society I look for role models who I can relate to on some level. Sonia Gandhi, India’s Italian-born Congress Party President, is one woman whose history and influence has truly inspired me. Knowing that she has come so far in a society that is not her own gives me hope. Now, as I am told, Indian’s think of her as one of their own, not as an outsider. Perhaps there is hope for me yet!

I admire her character as well as her style. She is one very powerful woman yet shows no signs of placing her importance on a pedestal. Her wardrobe too shows her conservative and humble nature. Sonia almost always makes public appearances in a saree; simple, cotton, nothing glamorous, the kind of saree women wear daily on the streets in India. Granted, she is a widow and in India widow’s tend to wear plainer sarees, but I think her choice of saree is also a social statement.

After all, who says a saree has to be extravagant to be beautiful? In my opinion, it is the way a woman wears the saree and the history behind it that makes it beautiful. I’d like to do more posts on the average Indian woman’s saree style and women’s everyday fashion to share with you what India is like in my eyes, the eyes of an American living in Kolkata. …I just need to find some time to hit the streets with my camera.

Ruby (above, HOT) not only nabbed a seat in the Canadian Parliament as one of the first two Sikh women ever to do so, but she’s a Chiropractor by trade. That means wicked nice massages available for the lucky guy that goes home with the little miss. If that’s not enough for you, the icing on the cake is that she spent some time in India as an actress in Bollywood movies.

She looks great in a saree.

Ruby Dhalla (born February 18, 1974) is a Canadian politician. She has represented the riding of Brampton—Springdale in the Canadian House of Commons since 2004 as a member of the Liberal Party. Dhalla and British Columbia Conservative MP Nina Grewal are the first Sikh women to serve in the Canadian House of Commons.

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About US

Sunny is a designer in Los Angeles. He loves the fluidity and fluency of a saree and believes that when a woman wears a saree, she not only adorns her body but she also adorns her soul. His design ethos is that “simplicity never goes out of style.”

Indrani is a video journalist in Kuala Lumpur. She seamlessly blends east and west by doing the Bharat Natyam steps and Tango, without missing a beat. She has an infectious smile, a youthful sense of the fashion and a timeless sense of the style.

Rupa Gupta: A writer, editor and journalist, Rupa has been in the media for more than two decades. She has worked as Editor with major publications, both in India and abroad. a keen eye for fashion and current trends. Her sense of aesthetics transcends the hype and always finds the true beauty.

Liza Varma is a former Femina Miss India and well known model in Delhi. Today, she is a leading Fashion Choreographer with over 1000 shows to her credit in India and abroad. She is also a member of the Fashion Design Council of India and a Consultant with Shoot Talent Management. Her client list is the who’s who of Indian fashion industry.

Misty is a student in London and has her fingers on the pulse of London fashion industry.

Abhi is a student in San Francisco and showcases sensuous saree pictures.

Kamini is a model in Los Angeles and loves to accentuate the best a saree has to offer.